"It's been one tragedy after another for this family, undoubtedly, and this is just one more," said St. Petersburg Police spokesman Mike Puetz.

Around 6:30 Wednesday night, police say Alex was at his grandparents' home on 71st Avenue North. His grandfather and uncle were inside at the time.

Alex, they say, was sitting on the back patio talking with some friends. Detectives say he was showing them how he handled his .38-caliber handgun in way to make it less dangerous to carry.

"No round in the chamber," Puetz says he told them.

But then in an effort to convince them, Alex apparently raised the weapon to his head and pulled the trigger.

It fired a single bullet that took his life.

"There was nothing... no intention on his part to harm himself," said Puetz, "In spite of the misfortunes he had seen over the past year or so, he was still in good spirits. Nobody in his immediate family or friends... nobody thinks this is anything else but an accident."

Alex's horrible death compounds what has already been a tragic period for the entire Shaw family.

In June, Alex's mother Tory died of cancer. Then just eight days later, armed suspects broke into the Shaw's home on Orpine Drive. Alex's father Richard confronting the masked gunmen and was shot to death.